Barren Senkaku Nationalism and China-Japan Conflict 不毛な尖閣ナショナリズムと日中の葛藤

Wani Yukio

Barren Senkaku Nationalism and China-Japan Conflict

Wani Yukio

Translated by John Junkerman

On April 17, 2012, the day that Tokyo Mayor Ishihara Shintarô went public with his plan for the metropolis to purchase the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands, the government of Yilan County in Taiwan responded, “The only way to Senkaku Islands carry out a sale of the Diaoyu Islands is through an official open, competitive bidding process.”

Map of China, Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, Senkakus

This response was based on the fact that in Taiwan, the Diaoyu Islands fall under the jurisdiction of the township of Toucheng in Yilan County, and on January 29, 2004 the county completed land registration for the

1 10 | 28 | 4 APJ | JF islands, based on satellite photographs. It is land and sea territories, and exclusive noteworthy that this took place during the pro- economic zones became fixed, but as before, independence administration of President Chen natural human relationships were maintained Shui-bian. Shukan Kinyobi has obtained copies by people whose lives cross over the borders of of the land registry documents. those territories.

The registry divides the island among 74 The first person to settle Uotsuri Island, the parcels of land, all of which are listed as the largest of the five islands, was not from property of the Republic of China. As of January Okinawa; he was Koga Tatsushiro from 2012, the appraised value of the land was 190 Fukuoka. In 1895, after Japan’s victory in the New Taiwan dollars (about US$6) per square Sino-Japanese War was assured, the Japanese meter. government passed a cabinet resolution to annex the Senkaku Islands. Koga was given a In Taiwan and elsewhere in the Chinese lease to the islands and sent workers from sphere, the movement to regain sovereignty Okinawa to operate a bonito processing plant over the islands is known as the Bao-Diao and to gather albatross feathers. At its peak, [Defend the Diaoyu Islands] Movement. It has a there were more than 200 people working on very different status from the nationalist the island, though it is not known how they groups and right-wing politicians that wave the managed to live in this isolated place with no flag on the issue in Japan. Before introducing gas or electricity and limited supplies of water the background of this movement, I’d like to outline the history of the disputed islands. Koga is said to have paid property tax on the islands, but the only record that has been found The History of the “Ownerless Islands” is a land registration from 1932 that remained in a log of closed registrations in the Ishigaki There once was a shipping route thatoffice of the Naha Regional Legal Affairs connected Nagoya and Osaka, via Naha, Bureau. There was no building registration for Miyako, and Ishigaki, with the ports of Keeling the bonito processing plant that once stood on and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, but service was Uotsuri. Koga Zenji had taken over the discontinued in June 2008. The travel writer operation from his father, but with the Kishimoto Yoko begins her Binetsu no Shima: escalation of the war in China, he withdrew. Taiwan (Taiwan: Feverish Island) with an The Senkaku Islands became uninhabited once account of her voyage on this route. again.

Among the passengers were TaiwaneseAfter the war, with Okinawa under US military merchants who were transporting goods on the administration, Kuba and Taisho islands were ship. They would go ashore when the ship used as targets for bombing practice, but the stopped at Miyako or Ishigaki, and conduct US military did not take any measures against business fluently with merchants on the the fishing boats from neighboring countries islands. As the ship moved along on its voyage, that frequented the waters around the islets. the language shifted from Japanese toFishing boats from Taiwan were especially Okinawan, then to the Sakishima Okinawan numerous. Taiwanese fishermen would land on dialect, and finally to Chinese in Taiwan, and Uotsuri Island during stormy weather and wait Kishimoto was amazed to see how thefor the seas to subside. It is reported that the merchants and the various islanders were able island was lined with shacks built by Taiwanese to convey their intentions to each other. fishermen.

Along with the formation of modern societies, The Bao-Diao Movement

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The history of the Bao-Diao Movement can be thousand foreign students from Taiwan, Hong traced to 1970. As the reversion of Okinawa Kong, and elsewhere surrounded United approached, increasing the possibility that Nations headquarters in New York, demanding control over the Senkaku Islands would be the “defense of the Daioyu Islands.” returned to Okinawa, Taiwanese students in the United States began to speak out. A rally ROC President Ma Ying-jeou, who was then a was held at Princeton University on November graduate student at Harvard, was caught up in 17, 1970 to demand that the Diaoyu Islands be the movement. Ma was studying for a doctorate returned to Taiwan. The previous year,in law and later wrote a thesis, arguing that the Taiwanese authorities had declared sovereignty Diaoyu Islands belong to the Republic of China over natural resources in the continental shelf (published in English in 1980 as Trouble Over beyond the limits of the country’s coastal Oily Waters: Legal Problems of Seabed territorial waters. Boundaries and Foreign Investments in the East China Sea, and in 1982 in a revised David Ko, later chairman of the Hong Kong- Chinese edition). based Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, was then a foreign student in However, when the People’s Republic of China Australia, and he was invited to join the was admitted to the UN in October 1971, the movement. There were many students from Republic of China lost its UN representation, Taiwan and Hong Kong at his university, and foreign students from Taiwan stepped back though there were none from mainland China from the Bao-Diao Movement. With the at that time. A Taiwanese student whoreversion of Okinawa in May 1972, the Senkaku transferred from a university in the US brought Islands came under Japan’s jurisdiction. People word of the Bao-Diao Movement. Many of the in Hong Kong anticipated that the Diaoyu Taiwanese students in the US and Australia Islands would be returned to China under the were children of Guomindang soldiers who China-Japan Joint Declaration in September of went into exile in Taiwan after 1947, and they that year, but these hopes did not materialize. had very strong Chinese nationalistDavid Ko notes with regret, “Even though consciousness. “They would talk fervently China defeated Japan’s war of aggression, the about how it was the responsibility of Taiwan to US unilaterally turned over administration of recover the Diaoyu Islands,” David Ko recalls. the Diaoyu Islands to the losing side.”

Meanwhile, Koga Zenji negotiated the sale of Uotsuri and other islands to the Kurihara family in 1978. Around the same time, Nihon Seinensha (Japanese Youth Federation), a nationalist organization affiliated with the major yakuza group Sumiyoshi-kai, made a number of landings on the Senkaku islands. The group erected a lighthouse on Uotsuri Island that year. It returned in 1996 to make repairs to the lighthouse, and another lighthouse was erected on Kita Kojima. Uotsuri island People in Hong Kong were most sensitive to these developments. Beginning in 1992, On January 29, 1971, as the Okinawa reversion accounts of clashes between Taiwanese and agreement entered its final countdown, two Japanese fishing boats in the area around the

3 10 | 28 | 4 APJ | JF islands were reported with great frequency. Chinese demonstrators on September 18, “Taiwanese fishermen were repeatedly barred 2010 at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing unilaterally, but the Chinese government did absolutely nothing,” David Ko remarks indignantly. The Kurihara Family Bears a Heavy Debt Let us turn our attention from the Chinese In 1996, a year before Hong Kong reverted to sphere to the domestic Japanese scene. As China, Foreign Minister Ikeda Yukihiko made a mentioned, Koga sold Uotsuri and other islands stop in Hong Kong when reports of the landing to the Kurihara family, but there are many by Japanese nationalists were still fresh. He aspects of the sale price and process that refused to hold a press conference at the remain unclear. Since Ishihara’s announcement airport, but commented to a Ming Pao reporter, in April, Kurihara Kunioki’s younger brother, “The Senkaku Islands are an integral part of Hiroyuki, has appeared occasionally in the our national territory.” His remark inflamed the media, but there has been no reporting on his Bao-Daio Movement (seeShukan Kinyobi, links to nationalist groups. Further, in September 27, 1996). reporting on the Kurihara family, one gets glimpses of the backstory that has led to the In September of that year, an activist from present talk of selling the islands. Hong Kong drowned while attempting to land on the islands, and the movement reached its Kurihara Kunioki’s estate in Saitama Prefecture high-water mark, with tens of thousands is in a residential district near the Omiya Koen participating in anti-Japanese demonstrations. Station on the Tobu Noda train line. Adjacent On October 7, four Hong Kong legislators to the Hishiya Kaikan that Kurihara operates, it dodged Japan Coast Guard vessels andis surrounded by dense woods and earthen managed to land on Uotsuri Island. Returning walls. The property is 40 meters wide where it to Hong Kong, the four were greeted as heroes. faces the road, and looking from the parking lot This marked the culmination of the second Bao- next door, it is close to 100 meters deep. The Daio Movement. registered size of the property is 3,685 square meters. The nearly 4-meter high wall that In this fashion, the Bao-Diao Movement in the surrounds the estate is topped with barbed Chinese sphere has risen and fallen, to rise wire to prevent intruders, and four surveillance again, in response to developments of recent cameras can be observed. The main residence history. One wonders how clearly the ruling is a ferroconcrete building, four stories above Democratic Party of Japan understands this ground and one below, with a floor space of background and prevailing conditions. 2,468 square meters, as imposing as a gymnasium.

When I rang the buzzer and explained the reason for my visit, the house staff told me through the intercom that Kunioki was out and told me to leave my business card in the mailbox.

Kunioki worked as a driver for Sugahara Tsusai, a businessman who was widely known as a fixer. Tokyo Mayor Ishihara is said to be a disciple of Sugahara. Uotsuri, Kita Kojima,

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Minami Kojima, and Kuba islands were all The Hishiya Kaikan that Kunioki operated was transferred from Koga Zenji to Kunioki through a fairly well known wedding hall, located near the 1978 sale of the property; the title to Kuba the famous Hikawa Shrine in Omiya. However, is in the family name, while Kunioki is listed as as traditional-style weddings fell out of favor owner of the remaining three islands. We have and the wedding hall began to show signs of previously reported here that these three age, it saw a steady downturn in business. Then islands are income-generating properties that in 1999, an agreement was reached with a have earned over ¥260 million in rent from the religious organization, Kenshokai, which national government since 2002. changed the name of the hall to Youth Hall and began to use it as a religious facility in December of that year. At the same time, Kenshokai built a new headquarters on land that Kurihara owned nearby, and the area became something of a temple town for Kenshokai (see Kensho Shimbun, November 5, 1999).

Kenshokai is an organization of Nichiren Shoshu believers that competes with Soka Gakkai. It originated as Tokyo Myoshinko. Recognized as a religious organization in 1975, it later changed its formal name to Fuji Taisekiji Kenshokai. It has been battling Soka Gakkai for members for many years, and its A Japanese demonstrator in a December aggressive methods of confining minors to 2010 Tokyo demonstration indoctrinate them have resulted in a number of arrests. It has used its organ, theKensho Shimbun, to mount negative campaigns against But the Kurihara family agreed to enter China, and extended its reach to Taiwan and negotiations over the sale of these cash-cow Okinawa over the years. properties because of the serious state of affairs in the family’s finances. As of April of When Kenshokai moved its headquarters from this year, megabanks and other financial Nerima Ward in Tokyo to Omiya, it explained institutions held over ¥2.5 billion in mortgages that Omiya had firmer ground and believers on the estate and Hishiya Kaikan. The financial would thus be protected from major troubles began back in 1979. The borrowing earthquakes, but the availability of a good deal then was a modest ¥20 million from a regional of land via the Kurihara family was thought to bank, but this was followed by a loan ¥270 be a major factor in the decision. million from a trust bank in 1985. The debt ballooned in a series of transactions that However, the relationship between the two followed, with the cast of mortgage holders parties was not a smooth one. In January 2007, changing over time. According to the property Kenshokai evacuated the Youth Hall (Hishiya registration for Kurihara Kunioki and his Kaikan), reneging on a major portion of the Hishiya Kaikan, the debt had reached a ceiling reported 20-year lease. It announced that a of more than ¥2.5 billion as of April 25. new Youth Hall would be built in the vicinity. The organization explained that the Hishiya Kenshokai and the End of a Honeymoon Kaikan appeared to be sturdy, but that there

5 10 | 28 | 4 APJ | JF were problems with its earthquake resistance surveys of the Senkaku Islands were made, and (Kensho Shimbun, February 5, 2007).upon carefully determining that the islands Kenshokai had seemed to be a blue-chip patron were under the control of no country, they for the Kurihara family, but it fell short of were incorporated into Okinawa Prefecture in covering Hishiya Kaikan’s debt, which only 1895.” Japan possessed the islands after 1895. continued to snowball. In what sense can it be said that the islands are “an integral part of Japan’s territory”? After Ishihara’s announcement of the plan to purchase the Senkaku Islands, largeChina takes the position that the Senkaku contributions have continued to flow into the Islands were under its jurisdiction during the Tokyo metropolitan offices. If the plan is Ming and Qing dynasties. For example, after carried out, it could mean salvation to the Hu Zongxian was appointed commander of Kurihara family with their heavy burden of coastal defenses against Japanese pirates in debt. 1556, he included the Diaoyu Islands in maritime maps as part of the coastal defense Wani Yukio is a journalist. This article zone of Fujian Province. In the 1992 Law on the appeared in Shukan Kinyobi on May 25, 2012. People’s Republic of China Territorial Waters and Their Vicinity, China clearly stated, “Taiwan and the attached islands, including the Diaoyu Islands, are islands belonging to the COLUMN: What’s Problematic in People’s Republic of China.” Prime Minister Noda’s Statement on the Senkaku Islands? From an international perspective, even Japan’s ally, the US, has stated that it “does not take a position in favor of either Japan or China with regard to sovereignty over the Senkaku Magosaki Ukeru Islands.”

Jiji Press reported, “Prime Minister Noda held What this means in terms of policy is that Japan discussions in Beijing with Chinese Premier should not “solemnly deal with this issue under Wen Jiabao, and conveyed the Japanesedomestic law,” but instead must adopt a stance government’s position that the Senkaku Islands of finding ways to prevent a disputed territory are an integral part of Japan’s territory; in from flaring up. response, the Chinese side argued that it has sovereignty. Premier Wen said that Japan The present Japanese government denies this, should respect China’s core interests and major but Premier Zhou Enlai and Prime Minister concerns.” Tanaka Kakuei, as well as Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping and Foreign Minister Sonoda Sunao What is problematic about the Japanese agreed on separate occasions to shelve the statement? That Japan considers the Senkaku issue of the Senkaku Islands. These agreements Islands “an integral part of Japan’s territory.” in fact greatly favored Japan. First, they Japan ‘s position has been that the Senkaku recognized Japanese jurisdiction, and secondly, Islands are “an integral part of Japan’sthey meant that the current state of affairs territory, and there is no territorial issue,” but would not be changed through military force. this is not only not true, it is a very dangerous way of thinking. If both sides insist on their own positions and the matter is settled trough military force, Japan takes the position that “From 1885 on, Japan will have no chance of prevailing.

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Leaving the issue on the shelf is in Japan’s Conflict,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol 10, Issue national interest. In the context of China’s 28, No. 4, July 9, 2012. expansion of its military force, Japan is required to make a calm assessment ofArticles on related subjects prevailing conditions. •Gavan McCormack, Mage – Japan’s Island Magosaki Ukeru is the former director Beyond the Reach of the Law general of the Foreign Ministry’s International •Gavan McCormack, Small Islands – Big Information Bureau and former professor at the Problem: Senkaku/Diaoyu and the Weight of National Defense Academy. His books include History and Geography in China-Japan Nihon no Kokkyo Mondai (Japan’s Border Relations Problems). This column appeared in Shukan Kinyobi on May 25, 2012. •Wada Haruki, Resolving the China-Japan Conflict Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands John Junkerman is an American documentary filmmaker and Asia-Pacific Journal associate •Peter Lee, High Stakes Gamble as Japan, living in Tokyo, where he is a professor at China and the U.S. Spar in the East and South Waseda University. His film, “Japan’s Peace China Sea Constitution,” won the Kinema Jumpo and Japan PEN Club best documentary awards. It is •Tanaka Sakai,Rekindling China-Japan available in North America from Icarus Films. Conflict: The Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands Clash

Recommended citation: Wani Yukio, “Barren • Koji Taira, The China-Japan Clash Over the Senkaku Nationalism and China-JapanDiaoyu/Senkaku Islands

Barren Senkaku Nationalism and China-Japan Conflict 不毛 な尖閣ナショナリズムと日中の葛藤

Barren Senkaku Nationalism and China-Japan Conflict 不毛な尖閣ナショナリズムと日中の葛藤